Survival Of The Fattest: The Key To Human Brain Evolution

by Cunnane, Stephen C.

• ISBN13: 9789812561916
• ISBN10: 9812561919
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-06
• Publisher: Textstream

Summary

How did humans evolve larger and more sophisticated brains? Evolution, in general, depends on a special combination of circumstances: part genetics, part time, and part environment. In the case of human brain evolution, the main environmental influence was adaptation to a 'shore-based' diet, which provided the world's richest source of nutrition, as well as a sedentary lifestyle that promoted fat deposition. Such a diet included shellfish, fish, marsh plants, frogs, bird's eggs, etc. Humans, and more importantly, hominid babies started to get fat, a crucial distinction that led to the development of larger brains and to the evolution of modern humans. A larger brain is expensive to maintain and this increasing demand for energy results in, succintly, survival of the fattest.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Preface --- How Did the Human Brain Evolve?	xiii
Acknowledgements	xvii
Part 1 --- The Human Brain: Unique Yet Vulnerable	1	(174)
Human Evolution: A Brief Overview	3	(22)
The Human Brain: Evolution of Larger Size and Plasticity	25	(26)
Defining Characteristics: Vulnerability and High Energy Requirement	51	(24)
Fatness in Human Babies: Insurance for the Developing Brain	75	(26)
Nutrition: The Key to Normal Human Brain Development	101	(14)
Iodine: The Primary Brain Selective Nutrient	115	(16)
Iron, Copper, Zinc and Selenium: The Other Brain Selective Minerals	131	(20)
Docosahexaenoic Acid: The Brain Selective Fatty Acid	151	(24)
Part 2 --- The Shore-Based Scenario	175	(120)
Genes, Brain Function and Human Brain Evolution	177	(14)
Bringing the Environment and Diet into Play	191	(18)
The Shore-Based Scenario: Why Survival Misses the Point	209	(18)
Earlier Versions	227	(16)
The Evidence	243	(22)
How Would It Work?	265	(20)
Survival of the Fattest	285	(10)
Bibliography and Relevant Readings	295	(14)
Index	309